Domestic appliance



Oct. 12, 1943. R. R. CANDOR DOMESTIC APPLIANCE Filed Feb. 17, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

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ATTORNEY Oct. 12, 1943.

R. R. CANDOR DOMESTIC APPLIANCE Filed Feb. 17 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 P INVI'ENTOR. W

ATTORNEYS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR.

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. Tdd Mm an Patented Oct. 12, 1943 DOMESTIC APPLIANCE Robert R. Gander, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to General Motors Corporation, Dayton, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Application February 17, 1940, Serial No. 319,513

3 Claims. I (01. 219.-20.4)

This invention relates to a domestic appliance and more particularly to electric oven heating systems provided with separate manipulating devices for broiling and baking.

It is an object of my invention to provide a novel oven heating system which includes separate manipulating devices for providing the broil-- ing and baking circuit arrangements with means for preventing simultaneous energization of such circuits.

It is also an object of my invention to provide such a system with means for preheating the oven by using the maximum output obtainable by properly combining the broiling and baking circuit arrangements.

It is also an object of my invention to provide a thermostatic control for such a system providing an'automatic changefrom preheat to the bake circuit arrangement.

It is another object of my invention to control the thermostat by one manipulating device for broiling purposes and to control the thermostat by another manipulating device for baking purposes. v

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein a preferred form of my improved system in the preheat .circuit arrangement;

Fig. 2 is a View similar to Fig. 1 with the system in the bake circuit arrangement;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Figs. 1 and 2 with the system in the broil circuit arrangement;

Fig. 4 is a simple wiring diagram of the system shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3; and

Fig. 5 is a modified form of thermostat control for the system shown in Figs. 1 to 4.

Briefly, I have shown an electric oven heating system having an upper electric heating unit primarily for broiling purposes and a lower oven heating unit primarily for baking purposes.

Separate snap acting manipulating devices are 1 provided for controlling the energization of the .bake circuit arrangement the lower oven heating unit is energized at full voltage while the upper unit is energized preferably at less than half voltage. A preheat circuit is also provided under the control of the baking circuit manipulating device and is arranged so that the preheat circuit may be automatically changed to the baking circuit arrangement under the control of-the oven thermostat.

Referring now to the drawings there is shown diagrammatically an electric oven 28 provided with an upper electric oven heating unit 22 and a lower electric oven heating unit 24. The lower electric heating unit 24 is connected by a con ductor 26 to a movable switch contact 28 which cooperates with a stationary contact 30 which in turn is connected to the conductor 32.. The other terminal of the lower unit 24 is connected by conductor 34 with a movable contact 36 which cooperates with a stationary contact 38 connected to the conductor 40. The contacts 28 and 36 are mounted upon an insulating section 42 provided upon the end of a spring-metal strip 44 anchored to a block 46, and tensioned to hold the contacts 28 and 36 in contact with the contacts 30 and 38. The spring-metal strip 44 is operated by a toggle manipulating device 48 which is pivoted upon the pin 50. This device includes a cam nose 52 projecting downwardly from the hub section so as to engage the hump 54 of the strip 44 when moved in a counter-clockwise direction in order to move the insulating section 42 downwardly to separate the contacts 28 and 36 from the contacts 30 and 3B in order to deenergize the lower unit 24. The hub of the manipulating device 48 is provided with a notch 56 which receives the pointed end of the toggle device 58 which carries the toggle spring 60 abutting against a stationary stop plate 62 which is pierced to receive the end of the toggle device 58. This provides a snap action of the manipulating device 48 when it moves from the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 to the position shown in Fig. 3. The manipulating device 48 is operated by a finger lever 64 having its hub mounted upon the pin 50 within and concentric with the hub of the cam nose 52. This finger lever 64 is *movable between the shoulders 66 and 68 provided upon the hub of the cam nose 52. However, the hub of the finger lever 64 and the hub of the cam nose 52 have a friction connection including the button 10 and a spring 12 provided in the nose 52 in which the button bears against the hub of the finger lever 64.

The temperature maintained in the electric oven 20 is controlled by oven thermostat switch operated by a bulb 14 containing an expansible and contractible fluid and located at a suitable point within the oven 20. This bulb is connected by a capillary tube I6 to a metal diaphragm 78 which is adapted to act upon a switch lever 80 pivoted upon the pin 82 and carrying at its opposite end an insulating section 84 provided with contacts 86 and 88. A light return spring I26 is provided which will either keep the contacts closed or keep the lever 80 against the diaphragm I8, The contacts 86 and 88 cooperate with the contacts 90 and 92 to connect the entire system through the conductors 94 and 96 to a source 98 of alternating current electric energy. The contacts 86 and 88, and 90 and 92 are preferably of the slow make and break type having large flat areas. However, if desired, as shown in Fig. 5, a relay including contacts I02 and I04 may be provided for connecting the source 98 and the conductors 94 and 96 to the conductors I06 and I08 which in turn connect to the conductors 40 and 32 for supplying the oven heating units with electric energy. The relay is provided with an operating solenoid IIO energized from a transformer II2 connected across the conductors 94 and 96. The circuit including the solenoid H is controlled by a single set of contacts II4 which are operated by a thermostatic device otherwise similar to that shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, and including a .diaphragm, a lever and a return spring.

Referring new again to Figs. 1 to 3 the contacts 90 and 92 are mounted upon an insulating section I I6 provided upon the end of a leaf spring II8 anchored to the block I20; This leaf spring II 8 is tensioned to bend to the left beyond its true vertical position. Normally oven thermostats have been adjusted by adjusting the location of thediaphragm I8. In my system I adjust the thermostat by adjusting the location of the contacts 90 and 92. For baking and preheating purposes the location of the contacts 90 and 92 are adjusted by a pull rod I22 which is connected to finger lever 64 and which deflects the leaf spring H8 a desired amount. With this arrangement the finger lever 64, by its engagement with the shoulders 66 and 68, may be used to operate the cam nose 52 to either of its positions under the control of the snap acting device 58 in order to open or close the contacts 28 and 36. A stop pin I24 is provided for engaging the cam nose 52 to limit its movement in the ofi position while a push rod 2I2 limits its movement in the on" position.

However, the finger lever 64 is capable of movement independently of the cam nose 52 and can be set to various bake temperature positions indicated on Figs. -l, 2 and 3 whenever the manipulating device 48 is. moved away from the off position to a position where the contacts 28 and 36 are closed. Any suitable range of temperatures may be provided. As shown temperatures of from 200 to 500 are provided and the finger lever 64 may be set at any point within this range by moving it to any point between the shoulders 66 and 68. The friction button device I0 provides sufiicient friction to hold the contacts 90 and 92 in the desired position corresponding to the bake temperature selected. This friction device should be stronger than the combined forces of the leaf spring H8 and the return spring I26, provided for the lever 80. It will be apparent that by moving the finger lever to various positions the location of the contacts 92 and 90 will be so adjusted by the pull rod I 22 as to control the temperature at which the contacts 90 and 92 I will be separated from the contacts 86 and 88 by the engagement of the operating pin of the diaphragm 'l8 with. the lever 80. The opening of these slow make and break contacts will deenergize all circuits in the system.

Fig. 1 shows the system in the preheat circuit arrangement and the heavy lines show all energized or closed circuits. In this preheat position a push rod I28 operated by the finger lever 64 when 'in preheat position engages an inverted U-shaped electromagnetic device I30. This device I30 is pivoted upon the pin I32 and carries the contacts I34 and I36. The contact I36 is connected by the conductor I38 to the ground or neutral conductor I40 which, together with the conductors 94 and 96, provide the familiar three-wire Edison circuit providing 230 volts across the conductors 94 and 96, and 115 volts across either of these conductors and the conductor I38. The engagement of the push rod I28 with the device I causes the engagement of the contact I34 with a double stationary contact I42. This closes a circuit in parallel with the previously described circuit which includes the lower unit 24. I

This parallel circuit includes a conductor I44 connected to the conductor 32 and extending to a stationary electromagnet I46 which cooperates with an armature I48 provided upon the U-shaped member I30 pivoted upon the pin I32. This electromagnet I46 has only suflicient power to hold the armature I48 when the contacts I34 and I42 are engaged.- The electromagnet I46 is connected to the contact I34 by a flexible conductor. As mentioned before the contact I34 cooperates with the stationary contact I42 which in turn is connected by the conductor I50 to a stationary contact I52 which inturn cooperates with the movable contact I54 mounted upon an insulating section I51 of the broil switch mechanism.

- The contacts I52 and I54 are closed whenever the broil switch mechanism is open. The contact I54 is connected by a short shunt I55 with the conductor I56 which connects with one terminal of the broiling unit 22 located in the upper portion of the oven. The other terminal of the broiling unit 22 is connected by a conductor I58 and a conductor I60 to the conductor 34 which in turn connects through the contacts 36 and 38 with theconductors 40 and I06, the contacts 88 and 92 and the conductor 96.

Thus a preheat circuit arrangement is provided supplying electric energy at full voltage for both the upper and lower heating units in order to quickly preheat the oven under the control of the oven thermostat. In operating the device 48, the lever 64 is first moved to the preheat position thus energizing all preheat circuits by the closing of the thermostat contacts and the bake contact as well as the contacts I34 and I42. The closing of contacts I34 and I42 energizes the electromagnet I46 to cause it to hold the armature I48. Thereafter the finger lever 64 may be moved to any desired baking position without disrupting the preheat circuit. As soon as the oven 20 reaches the desired temperature the thermostat bulb I4 will have expanded the operating fluid suificiently to cause the diaphragm I8 to engage the lever and separate the thermostat contactthereby deenergizing all circuits. This will also deenergize the electromagnet I 46 and allow the U-shaped device I32 to move in a clockwise direction under the influence of the return spring I62 which will cause the engagement of the contact I36 with the contact I42. This changes the circuit connections to provide a baking circuit arrangement as shown in Fig. 2. In this arrangement the circuits are the same exoepting that'the contact I36 now connects with the contact I42 thereby connecting the terminals of the upper heating unit to the conductors 34 and I40 thereby energizing the upper unit 22 at 115 volts while the lower unit 24 remains energized at 230 volts. The conductor I38 may be provided with an additional resistance in order to further reduce the energization of the upper unit 22 in order to provide better heat distribution within the oven for baking purposes. The thermostats 18-80 will cycle to. control the energization thereafter in the baking circuit arrangement of the upper and lower heating units at these difierent'voltages in order to maintain the baking temperature of the oven under proper baking conditions.

For broiling, the upper unit 22 alone is energized as shown in Fig. 3. In order to broil, the broil manipulating. mechanism 2IU is moved to the "on position and automatically the baking manipulating mechanism 48 is moved to the "of!" position through a push rod interconnection 2I2 which extends between, the cam nose 52 and the cam nose 2I4 provided on the broil manipulating device 2I0 This push rod slides in the anchoring blocks 46 and 2I6, the latter also supporting the spring-metal strip 2I8, which at its outer end is connected to the insulating section I". This insulating section I51 supports the movable contacts 220 and 222 as well as the contact I54 previously mentioned. The movable contacts 220 and 222 are connected by the conductors I56 and IIiI to the terminals of the upper unit 22. The contacts 220 and 222 cooperate with the stationary contacts 224 and 226 which connect to the conductors 32 and 40 to provide the terminals oi. the upper unit 22 with electric energy at 230 volts.

The broil manipulating device 2| ii includes a toggle snap action control 228 similar to thesnap action control 58 provided for the bake" manipulating device 48. The temperature during broiling is regulated by a push rod 230 which is operated by the cam nose 2I4 to engage the her of the safety features of this oven system. This system provides a means for disconnecting both terminals of each of the heating units from the source of supply even though the thermostat contacts are in closed position. Under such conditions these units will be normally connected to the ground conductor so that extreme safety is provided.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed, constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. In combination, an electric oven, a broil circuit producingbroiling conditions in said oven, a preheat circuit producing preheating conditions in said oven, a bake circuit producing baking conditions in said oven, temperature responsive means for changing from preheat circuit to the bake circuit, separate manipulating means having separate control positions for controlling the energization of diiferent ones of said circuits, and means for preventing the simultaneous movement of said separate manipulating means to said separate controlpositions by said separate manipulating means to prevent burning of food placed insaid oven.

2. In combination, an electric oven, a broil circuit producing broiling conditions in said oven, a preheat circuit producing preheating conditions in said oven, a bake circuit producing baking conditions in said oven, temperature responsive means for changing from preheat circuit to the bake circuit, a plurality of separate manipulating means having respective energizing positions for controlling the energization of spring strip 8 to move the. contacts 90 and 92 automatically move the other device to the 011" position so that onlyone circuit arrangement is pomible at any one time.

The wiring diagram in Fig. 4 shows sumin said oven.

a plurality of said circuits, means for preventing the simultaneous movement of said separate manipulating means to be their respective energizing positions to prevent improper heating of food placed in said oven, and an oven temperature regulating device responsive to tempera ture in said oven and adjusted by one of said separate manipulating means.

3. In combination, an electric oven, a broil circuit producing bi-oiling conditions in said oven, 9. preheat circuit producing preheating conditions in said oven, a bake circuit producing baking conditions in said oven, temperature responsive means for changing from preheat circuit to the bake circuit, two separate manipulating means having separate control positions for controlling the energization of difierent ones of said circuits, and one of said separate manipulatingineans having control positions toradiusting said temperature responsive means, and means for preventing the simultaneous movement or said separate manipulating means to said separate control positions by said separate manipulating means to prevent burning 0! food ROBERT R. CANDOR. 

